"I don't know why/ But with you I'd dance in a storm in my best dress/ Fearless"

Some of my favs from my little black and white polka dotted notebook (polka dot really is a strange word/phrase):

"Don't you understand that everything I do, I do it for you. Anything that might be special in me is you." -Finn Bell, Great Expectations

"You get through it, you just never get over it." -Plain Truth by Jodi Picoult

"[How] the follies of the people closest to you can be used as a kind of currency to buy your own allure." -Best Friends by Martha Moody pg 276

"I've become a real believer in not defining every single thing. Seems like every time you think you've figured it out what something is, it just becomes something else." -Felicity

"Nobody knows who they really are anyway. Most people are just trudging along- waiting for something to happen. True character doesn't even come out until people are tested- put in extreme situations... and most people spend their lives trying to avoid those kinds of situations." -Forget About It by Caprice Crane pg 313

"The thing about addiction is it never ends. Well because eventually whatever it is that was getting us high stops feeling good and starts to hurt us. Still they say you don't kick the habit until you hit rock bottom, but how do you know when you're there? Because no matter how badly a thing is hurting us, sometimes letting it go hurts even worse." -Grey's Anatomy

And now I'm walking in the park/ All of the birds, the dance below me/ Maybe when things turn green again/ It will be good to say you know me -John Mayer, "In Repair"

"You can't fail if you don't give up." -The Last Kiss

"Will you fly me away/ Take me away with you my love"

We have a winner (Oh no, not about the "guess the hint" mini guessing game. I'll explain that one in a different post)!

I finished The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (Mary Ann Shaffer, Annie Barrows) and I really, really liked it. It's the first book that has made it to the bookshelf instead of the floor in my sister's room for the next trip to McKay's. Hooray! I highly recommend. It was interesting even if it has a slightly slow start. And there are a billion characters introduced or at least referenced, but really who am I to complain? I was actually sad when it was over because I just wanted to know more. Hooray! Hopefully Jackson's book is coming soon and I will start another new one tonight. Maybe this will be a new good reads streak!

Summary (courtesy of Goodreads.com): January 1946: London is emerging from the shadow of the Second World War, and writer Juliet Ashton is looking for her next book subject. Who could imagine that she would find it in a letter from a man she's never met, a native of the island of Guernsey, who has come across her name written inside a book by Charles Lamb.... As Juliet and her new correspondent exchange letters, Juliet is drawn into the world of this man and his friends--and what a wonderfully eccentric world it is.

"Hey soul sister/ I don't want to miss/ A single thing you do"

Now I know I've advertised Jackson Pearce on here a couple of times: The author from UGA who is two years older than me, went to hear her speak a few months ago, yaddy yaddy yadda. I just ordered her first book As You Wish today and am eagerly awaiting its arrival! Her second novel is coming out this summer. YAY!

Well she is pretty awesome and doing these monthly contests in anticipation of the release of Sisters Red and giving away prizes. The contest is usually something like subscribe to her on Youtube (done), join her Facebook fan page (yup), follow her on Twitter (check) but this month it is different. All you have to do is blog about Sisters Red. So, here it is! Literally.

Is that not a freaking gorgeous cover?! If I saw that on the shelf, without knowing anything about Jackson or even the content, I would pick it up. But we all know you shouldn't judge a book by its (really freaking awesome) cover so here is the blurb, courtesy of Amazon:

Scarlet March lives to hunt the Fenris--the werewolves that took her eye when she was defending her sister Rosie from a brutal attack. Armed with a razor-sharp hatchet and blood-red cloak, Scarlett is an expert at luring and slaying the wolves. She's determined to protect other young girls from a grisly death, and her raging heart will not rest until every single wolf is dead.

Rosie March once felt her bond with her sister was unbreakable. Owing Scarlett her life, Rosie hunts ferociously alongside her. But even as more girls' bodies pile up in the city and the Fenris seem to be gaining power, Rosie dreams of a life beyond the wolves. She finds herself drawn to Silas, a young woodsman who is deadly with an ax and Scarlett's only friend--but does loving him mean betraying her sister and all that they've worked for?

Yup, sounds pretty good. I am eagerly awaiting this one. But until then, I'll just keep checking out her blog. And Youtube. And Twitter. :)

"Let's lay these bones to rest/ Build it all over and start again ... We're nearly home"

I killed several trees today. I apologize to the environment. Sorry!

After making the font smaller, downsizing to single-spaced, and eliminating any unnecessary gaps, Square One is now 124 pages (down from 360). I printed it out so my sisters and mom can read the book without having to stare at a computer screen for hours. I'm used to it and don't even notice, but LA mentioned it so I thought I would make it easy on the rest.

I also learned that an ink cartridge only lasts for about 110 pages. Unless it is possible they just get tired and rebel by using less ink. Either way, I'm down a cartridge.

Well this stack of papers was put into a folder and handed off to sister AE this afternoon. I thought I was worried about sis LA reading it but the fears are somewhat tripled with AE. We talked books on the 1.5 hour drive to McKay's the other day. We are both rather critical. She could feel this way about SO. Plus she might also rip on my grammar. Or just the content in general. Or maybe about the fact that she doesn't like the name of her character. But heyyyy, maybe if she is nice I will let her change her name! Incentive AE, incentive.

And since I'm pressed for time since Thursday is an awesome tv night (Why'd they have to vote off Boston Rob?! Thank God Anthony is back on Project Runway. What happened to The Office?), I'll leave you with a little game. In the above picture is a clue as to another topic in the book. Remember this list of the five major played that influenced the book:

1. My family.

2. My friends.

3. _____ _____.

4. ___ ____ ______.

5. __ _____.

Well there's a hint to #3 in that above picture. Take some guesses (if you have already read the book or been told key elements, you cannot guess. Unless no one else does. Then feel free to be a winner by sort of cheating)! Good luck! Answer will be revealed, well the next time I get around to writing in this thing.

And now we wait...

"No there ain't no rest for the wicked/ Until we close our eyes for good"

"Perhaps there is some secret sort of homing instinct in book that brings them to their perfect readers. How delightful if that were true." -The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

I haven't read a good book in a really long time. And this makes me sad. I mean, I really liked The Blind Side a lot. I teared up several times (much like I did during the movie) but I skipped over a lot of the technical football/history stuff cause I don't understand it and frankly, didn't really care. I already wrote how I felt about Picoult's latest. I read Water for Elephants which I feel like got really talked up both by the reviews and some of my friends but I just wasn't crazy about it. LC's "book" (I'm sorry, I just really doubt she wrote it all by herself) was entertaining and of course it leaves off with a cliffhanger so you're eager for the next one even if this one was only so-so (kind of like previews for the next episode of The Hills). But really, I just want to read a really great book. Maybe one that makes me cry, just a little bit. Maybe the last great book I read was Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah but that was a loooong time ago. But that book was excellent.

I did start reading The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society two nights ago and after a slightly slow start, I definitely like it and am excited to read more. So that's good. But I liked The Help too and the ending just didn't clinch it for me. I know, I'm a tough critic. This is just setting me up for terrible reviews in the future if anything of mine ever gets published. But maybe TGL&PPPS will end the dry spell.

And even if it doesn't, my sister goes to this HUGE used bookstore in Chattanooga every now and then and always brings back some goodies. I used to send requests for books and she'd bring some back or let me borrow some of hers. And I got to tagalong a few weeks before Christmas and got several books. And she and I went on Monday and I got a rather large supply this time around. But really, she and I treat it like a glorified library because you always tote back a box of stuff you are trading in for credit. My first trip to McKay's was super successful. I got at least three books that I had been wanting for several months and she never found them (or they just weren't in stock). But this time around, I went in with a list of book, organized alphabetically and by genre so I could maximize the time I was there. I think I found two on my list of 20+ books. So then I just started throwing in anything that looked interesting and ended up accumulating quite the pile. My sister made me whittle it down a couple of books but I walked away with this:

Hopefully a really, really, really good book is hiding in there. Fingers crossed. Oh yeah, you can also see what kind of book I go for: the toss in your bag to read at the pool kind.